Skateboarding

Darren Miller at Saylor Skatepark

Skaters are surfers. Skaters are criminals. Skaters are angry, antiestablishment punks. Skating is dangerous. Misconceptions and fear based generalizations have always dogged skateboarding. The public’s love/hate relationship caused skateboard companies and parks to open and fold regularly since it’s argued birth in the 1950s. No other action sport has ever sparked revolution the way skating has; and no other action sport has had such a difficult and fickle life. Skating has influenced music, clothing, culture, attitudes, lifestyles, decisions on what to do with the backyard pool, etc, etc, etc. It’s an amazing sport populated by of some of the most distinctive and exceptional people alive. Popularity and stability in the sport has been like a roller coaster on the outside, but when the love waned the true skaters were doing their thing underground, however they could. Skateboard companies closed; they made their own boards. Parks closed; they emptied pools and created their own concrete. All hail the misfit children of action sports.

There are over 50 skate parks in the state of Iowa. Here are just a few:

Riverside Skate Park
Address – 1225 C. Street SW, Cedar Rapids, IA
Website – www.cedar-rapids.org/parks/skatepark.asp

Saylor Skatepark
Address – 6359 NE 14th Street, Des Moines, IA
Website – www.saylorskatepark.com

Greenhurst Skatepark/The Barn
Address – 1647 Greenhurst Ln, Mount Pleasant, IA 52641

Indianola Skatepark
Address – North G Street & W. Euclid, Indianola, IA
Website – www.indianolaparks.com/Skate park.asp

Ames Skatepark
Address – 1330 6th Street, Ames, IA 50010
Website – www.cityofames.org/parksRecWeb/SkatePark.htm

Skateboard Organizations

United Skateboarding Association
www.unitedskate.com

World Cup Skateboarding
www.wcsk8.com